Racin' & Internet Stuff:

                                      By Tom Avenengo

                                         Volume # 102

                                           07/26/2012

 

First:

This past Thursday, I, along with grandson John, went to OCFS to take in the 358 Small Block show.  Rather than having to park somewhere out in the “North 40”, we went into the drive-in section.  Cars were restricted to the first two rows, while trucks were above that.  Up towards the top were vehicles that belonged to fair people.  The drive-in wasn’t full.  What I was really surprised at, in a way, was the scarce “crowd” that was in the full covered and half covered stands.  I think that, at the most, maybe 200 people in those stands?  It cost $25.00 for us to go into the drive-in - $12.00 each and $1.00 to park.  For the stands, if you didn’t get your ticket the day prior, it would cost you the price of getting into the fair - $8.00, then getting your race ticket - $12.00.  Total:  $20.00.  I kinda figure that is one of the main reasons for the small attendance, maybe?  Back in the day, when they raced during the fair, you’d pay to get into the fair, and then get that cost taken off of the race ticket.  One big drawback on going in the drive-in is that when you can see the cars on the front stretch, they’re just basically “shadows”, since there is no lighting on the inside of the track.  Quite difficult to tell which car is which.

 

Second:

I really don’t know how the “Open Tire” rule for the 358’s worked out, at OCFS last Thursday, but I did read on the Internet that all cars in the feature had Hoosier tires on all four.

 

Third:

I’m “Old school”.  Back when I started going to the races, the race drivers were all men.  Today, there are kids racing Sportsman cars that are all of 13 years old, and are tiny!  Kinda scary.  But the thing is – they’re getting the job done.

Note:  Check out what is said in the AARN section further down in the column, in the Lenny Sammons part.

 

 

Fourth:

Brickyard 400 fans face ban on campfires, charcoal grills

 

SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- NASCAR fans visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for this weekend's Brickyard 400 should leave their charcoal and firewood at home.

Speedway officials have imposed a ban on outdoor burning that mirrors one ordered by the town of Speedway on June 28.

The ban prohibits open burning including comfort fires or campfires and also bars the use of fireworks and charcoal and non-gas grills.

Speedway officials also are asking people to use caution with cigarettes, fluids from hot vehicle engines and other material that could start a fire in dry grass.

Tailgaters still have some options. Gas grills are allowed in camping and tailgating areas but must be at least 18 inches off the ground.

The U.S. Drought Monitor shows more than half of Indiana is experiencing an extreme drought.

The above was found via a link on Jayski’s website.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20120724/SPORTS0109/207240321/Brickyard-400-fans-face-ban-campfires-charcoal-grills

 

 

Fifth:

I was on the phone with my brother this past Monday night.  He lives down in Satellite Beach, Florida, so we really don’t get to see each other very much.  He’s a few years older than me, having been born on October 23, 1929.  He has his own business, working with plastics and Lexan.  Makes his own molds.  Raven Products is its name.  He still works – at 82 years of age – even with some of the health issues he’s had.

Usually when we talk the subject always goes to auto racing and all the good times we had, back in the day.  We both agree that we were pretty lucky growing up when we did and being able to see some of the greats race, in person.

Funny, but we can both still remember certain happenings at various races that we had attended – back in the 40’s.  He can still recall some of the races he witnessed at the Nutley, NJ Velodrome – a track that closed in 1939.

 

Sixth:

If you recall, this was in last weeks column in the “Jayski” news section:

Yeley moving to Tommy Baldwin Racing: 

J.J. Yeley, who has been driving the #49 for Robinson-Blakeney Racing, tweeted Wednesday morning, "Making some positive changes for the remainder of 2012. Moving over to TBR". No additional details available yet.(7-18-2012)”

 

Looking at the entry list for the Brickyard 400, I see that neither J.J. nor the 37 car, which is the one he’ll be driving, is listed, so far.

 

 

Seventh:

 

There was a special race at the I-88 Speedway this past Tuesday night – a Wade Decker Memorial race.  A lot of rain the day before raised havoc with the racing surface.  I’ve read of numerous flips and crashes taking place, and the worst one was in a Street Stock race.

 

Found on Facebook:

 

We would like to ask everyone to say prayers for the Decker family as Denny Decker flipped his Street Stock Wildly at I88 Speedway last night during the Wade Decker memorial. The race track was very rough and may have been the cause of the wreck. Denny has a broken neck that is putting pressure on his spinal cord. He will be going in for surgery very shortly and only has a little feeling in one section of one arm. Please keep him in your prayers. he's going to need them, it's going to be a long road to recovery.”

 

 

Surely there will be astronomical hospital costs incurred.  But what concerns me is whether Denny Decker was wearing a HANS device or similar piece of safety equipment, or not.  Also, how about insurance?  Quite a few times, in my columns, I’ve put a link to insurance for those that race – those that race any kind of vehicle, as long as it has a roll cage.

Here’s that link, again:  http://www.stida.com/

 

As for safety equipment, face it, the biggest reason most drivers that don’t have things like the HANS device is mainly due to the cost.  Yep, it’s a shame that what one can use to keep one safe is so costly, isn’t it?

 

 


Eighth:

 

Bad news.  This came out on Facebook on Tuesday:

 

The ROC Modifieds have been cancelled August 4th. "After speaking with our teams the majority just felt it would be too much of a hardship to make the trip to Wall Stadium this August. We appreciate the understanding of our fans, teams and the management of Wall Stadium Speedway." -Andrew Harpell
Final Schedule TBA, but so far we will be adding a 50 Lap 4-Cylinder Feature August 4th.”

 

Ninth:

Highway fatalities unexpectedly surge.

Any idea as to why it’s being thought?  You might be surprised.  I was.

 

Check out the article here: 

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/highway-fatalities-unexpectedly-surge.html

 

Then check out the comments that follow.

 

 

 

Tenth:

 

Back when I first started writing, and getting press credentials, I had the opportunity to interview some up and coming drivers at the speedway in Nazareth, Pa.  Jimmy Kite, who is still racing, but I’m wondering, what ever happened to Jessica Iannuzzi – a real good looking female midget driver.  Or what happened to Boston Reid, who, for a while, raced in the NASCAR Truck Series?  Last I had seen, Reid was into Real Estate in the Charlotte, NC area.

 

 

Eleventh:

 

Ouch!  Looking at the results for the NEMA Midget race at Star Speedway, in Epping, N.H., I  see 19 cars listed for the regular midgets and 13 listed for the NEMA Lights.  I sure hope that doesn’t cause Oswego to cancel their appearance this year, from what I know, the reason for last years cancellation was low car counts.  However, with the NEMA Lights now also going to Oswego, maybe there’ll be enough cars?  If you recall, last year was the first time since WW II that there was no full sized midget races in the state of New York.  Sad, huh?

 

And, from what I can see, the ARDC had 18 cars for their show at the Mercer Speedway, last weekend.  I imagine the ARDC would be a little stronger today if the schedule they had for Big Diamond, for the 2012 season, didn’t get cut.

 

There’s a lot of talk on the ARDC’s message board about rules and midget engines, on this thread:  rules are rules…but…

Which can be found, if you go here: 

http://www.ardcmidgets.com/Messageboard.asp

 

 

 

TV listings:

 

Mainly NASCAR stuff.

 

http://www.jayski.com/pages/tv.htm

 

 

Coming up:

 

At Accord this coming Friday, the added class is the 4 Cylinder cars.  I noticed that the speedway was looking for another date for the rained out CRSA 305 Sprint Car show from last Friday.  Looking at the CRSA schedule, I see they were originally scheduled for “The Ridge” on 8/17, and they have an open date on 8/24.  On 8/17, the Lightning Sprints are scheduled for Accord, while on the 24th, the 4 Cylinders are.

 

Note # 1:  Found on Facebook around 10:00 PM on Tuesday:

Looks like we will be back in action sooner than we thought. Just hear accord has added lightning sprints to the schedule for the remainder of the season. If my car owners makes it back from his trip on time I will be running this Friday.”

 

Note # 2:  As of midnight on Wednesday, I should mention that there is no notice or mention of this on the Accord Speedway website.

 

At OCFS this coming Saturday, the fair is still on-going.  Its double point night, and the CRSA 305 Sprint Cars will also be in action.

Down in New Jersey, at the New Egypt Speedway, it’s the annual “Friends of Mike” race.  100 laps for the Modifieds.

Some info on that night and events can be seen if you go here:

http://www.newegyptspeedway.net/news/2012/071712.htm

 

At OCFS on August 4th, a return of “Nostalgia Night”.  ACOT will also have some cars come in.  Whether they get track time would depend on how the show moves along, I’d venture to say.  How I wish there was an ACOT member that has an outboard powered midget that runs!

This, below, found on the Victory Speedway’s message board:

About some of the “old timers”:

Confirmed list...those that said they would attend...stands at exactly 60.

Last year, close to 20 of the comfirms failed to appear because of the possibility of rain. 

Buzzi Reutimann is a comfirmed YES along with Carl Van Horn, Bobby Bottcher, Anthony Ferraioulo, Charlie Shire, Jerry Wilson and the infamous Henry Sharp.. 

And:  Bobby Bottcher, Carl Reynolds, Jerry Wilson, Steve Makocy, Sammy Rogers, Carol Birchwale, The Jeffer, Carl Van Horn, the Ferraiuolo's, Ty Scott, and Frank Jashembowski.

 

Buzzi has been offered a ride in a Modified for the evening...I hope he accepts the offer and gives us memories of the past.

Track program will have an insert poster of the drivers.

 

And:

 

“If Buzzi accepts the ride for the night, it will be in the Sparta Trucking Ray and Debbie Tuit #673.”

 

Note:  There are a couple of photos from a recent “Nostalgia Night” at OCFS, towards the end of this column.

 

 

Found on Jayski’s website:

http://www.jayski.com/

Allmendinger Indefinitely Suspended From NASCAR Competition: 

AJ Allmendinger, driver of the #22 Dodge in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, has been suspended indefinitely from NASCAR for violating the sanctioning body's substance abuse policy. On July 24, Allmendinger was found to have violated Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 19 (NASCAR's substance abuse policy) of the 2012 NASCAR rule book. As outlined in the rule book, NASCAR next will provide Allmendinger a letter outlining a process for reinstatement. By agreeing to the letter, he will be allowed to participate in the Road to Recovery Program.(NASCAR)
see earlier updatees about Allmendinger's situation on the 
#22 team news page.(7-24-2012)

Penske Racing Statement: 

"In accordance with NASCAR's Substance Abuse Policy, Penske Racing was notified today of AJ Allmendinger's positive B sample test. We respect NASCAR's policy and the process they have taken with this matter. Penske Racing is very disappointed with the result of the B sample test and will evaluate its course of action as it pertains to AJ over the coming week. Sam Hornish Jr., will drive the #22 Dodge Charger this weekend at Indianapolis and next weekend at Pocono."(Penske Racing)


Walldinger Racing Statement: 

Aegis Analytical Laboratories in Nashville has delivered the results of the "B" sample test for Penske Racing driver AJ Allmendinger, which confirmed the results of the "A" test. Statement from Tara Ragan, Vice President, Walldinger Racing Inc. "This was not the news we wanted to hear and we will work to get to the source of what may have caused this. To that end, we have secured the services of an independent lab to conduct thorough testing on every product within AJ's home and motor coach to find what might collaborate with his test, which created results that were within nanograms of accepted standards. We are working closely with NASCAR and Penske Racing to identify the next action steps in this process. We continue to be extremely grateful by the breadth and scope of support for AJ from his fans and partners. We would like to again thank NASCAR, Penske Racing and all our sponsor partners for the open communication, and for helping us at every step in this process. We expect to have further updates in the upcoming days."(Walldinger Racing)(7-24-2012)


Shell / Pennzoil Statement: 

"Shell and Pennzoil believe that the process and procedures that NASCAR has in place as part of their substance abuse policy are appropriate and serve to ensure that the sport and its participants are held to the highest standards. We share Penske Racing's disappointment with the result of AJ's (Allmendinger) B sample test and will work closely with them to determine plans moving forward. We hope for the best for AJ during this difficult time."(Shell Motorsports)


Allmendinger Update: Road to Recovery: 

"While we await further information from testing to determine the cause, we have notified NASCAR that AJ will participate in the Road to Recovery Program starting immediately. As we have stated earlier, we respect NASCAR's drug testing policies. They are first and foremost in place to protect drivers and AJ being among those. We fully support the program, and and as more details become available, we will share them. We would like to personally thank Mr. Helton and John Bobo for helping worked through this in an expeditious manner." -Tara Ragan, Vice President, Walldinger Racing Inc.
see earlier and all updates / reports / statements about Allmendinger's / Penske Racing's situation on the 
#22 team news page.(7-25-2012)

 

Amphetamines caused Allmendinger's positive test: 

Suspended Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger tested positive for amphetamines, his business manager confirmed Wednesday. Tara Ragan, the vice president of Walldinger Racing Inc., said Allmendinger was told when initially suspended by NASCAR on July 7 that amphetamines were found in his drug testing sample taken a week earlier. She said the term was so broad that she opted to refer to it as a stimulant. Brand names of medications that contain or metabolize into amphetamines include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat, Desoxyn, Didrex, ProCentra and Vyvanse. Amphetamines also are used recreationally as a performance enhancer, often referred to on the street as "speed." When overused, they can be psychologically and physically addictive. "With amphetamines, there are a whole slew of things it can be," Ragan told ESPN.com. "When we say we don't know what it is, what we were trying to ascertain is what is it in that grouping? In our head, we don't know. In fact, when the (medical review officer) first called and said he tested positive for amphetamines, the first thing we said was, 'What does that mean?'" Ragan said the hope is Dr. David Black, who runs Aegis Sciences Corporation in Nashville, Tenn., which tested Allmendinger's "A" and "B" urine samples, will help clarify that Thursday when Allmendinger talks to him to be assigned a health care facility for assessment. Meanwhile, Ragan said there are plans to have Allmendinger tested again by an independent laboratory to see whether amphetamines still show up in his system. "We weren't being evasive," Ragan said. "In my head, no, we didn't know what the drug was. Amphetamines was too general for us when trying to figure out what it is."(more at ESPN.com)(7-25-2012)

 

Stewart says he will have three teams in 2013: 

#14-Tony Stewart, driver of the #14-Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy and owners of Steweart-Haas Racing (#14, #10-Patrick & #39-Newman) was the guest on the NASCAR Weekly Teleconference. Below is the transcript in part, dealing with the loss of the U.S. Army on the #39 Chevy of Ryan Newman and plans for 2013:

Q. With U.S. Army now leaving a few weeks ago, where does that leave you as far as commitments with new sponsorship for your team next year?


Stewart: We're working on it, it's definitely still a setback but –

 
Q. Is it your hope to have three cars next year? 

Stewart: Yes, and it has been since we signed Danica.


Q. On the sponsorship deal, last year at this time it seemed like the environment was changing a little bit and maybe getting a little bit better and if you're still seeing that kind of thing and what it's like out there now in terms of what kinds of things you're having to do to get sponsors now that maybe you were or were not last year at this time.


Stewart: Well, I still think it's gaining momentum. We have been able to bring in Aspen Dental and Quicken Loans on board and those are two companies that had not been a part of NASCAR racing in the past. I'm pretty proud of that side of it. You know, it was definitely a huge disappointment that we were going to lose the U.S. Army. But it's not something that we have had a lot of at Stewart Haas Racing, we have not lost a lot of partners. And especially a group like U.S. Army, they have been a lot of fun to work with and they been a very dedicated group and have been very involved with what the race team is doing and very such pore at this point. We are going to miss out having them on board next year. But I still think it's coming around. There's a lot of new companies that we are seeing in the sport, and we are seeing that in our organization. So we are not giving up hope and throwing in the towel thinking that we are losing one sponsor; we are going to hopefully be able to try to find somebody else.(Team Chevy)(7-25-2012)

 

Andretti says Cup in 2013 'highly unlikely': 

Michael Andretti says time is running out for his Indianapolis-based racing organization to join NASCAR for next season. The owner of Andretti Autosport said it's now "highly unlikely" that he'll be involved with the Sprint Cup Series in 2013. "We've got a couple of (sponsorship) deals working, but it's getting late," Andretti said following the first practice of the Edmonton Indy. "It's not dead yet, but it's highly unlikely." Andretti bought his IndyCar team in 2003, but the cost of participating in IndyCar is at least one-third of what it takes to be in Sprint Cup.(USA Today/Indianapolis Star)(7-21-2012)

Note # 1:  To be perfectly honest here, I don’t put much into what Michael Andretti has to say, especially after he said he had no knowledge of a third road race for Indy cars some years ago, a race that was being put on by Andretti/Green, down in Florida.

Note # 2:  Hmm, just wondering – what about this, from my 99th column, back on July 5th:

“Andretti is considering forming NASCAR team: UPDATES - Dodge and Penske deny deal:

One of IndyCar's biggest names could branch out to the Sprint Cup Series as Michael Andretti told SI.com that he is hoping to start a NASCAR team. "We were looking at NASCAR real close last year, too, but it fell apart," Andretti said. "We were looking at it just as hard last year as this year and the year before." If Andretti is able to find the right sponsorship, he could team up with Dodge and base his team out of the old Evernham Motorsports shop at the Statesville Regional Airport in Statesville, N.C. A Dodge source told SI.com that Andretti could probably team up with the engine manufacturer for $5 million to $6 million. That's because Dodge is losing its primary team in Sprint Cup at the end of this season as Penske Racing switches to Ford. Because of that, it is looking for a flagship team and Andretti could be a good fit, especially if it were to team up with Richard Petty Motorsports -- currently a Ford team paired with Roush Fenway Racing, but has a long history with Dodge. "I'm always looking at all options," Andretti said. "I'd be stupid not to listen to Dodge or any other manufacturers. It doesn't matter that we are a Chevy IndyCar team. It might be nice if it was all under one roof but, in our contract, we're a Chevy IndyCar team."(Sports Illustrated)(6-27-2012)


UPDATE: 

Sources have confirmed to PitPass.net that Michael Andretti has purchased the engine program from Penske Racing and will field at least one full time Dodge in the Cup series in 2013 and beyond. No word on who the driver is, but with Matt Kenseth leaving Roush at the end of the season, the 2003 Cup series champ did confirm to the Journal Sentinel on Wednesday that he will drive for "a new cup team" in 2013 and beyond. One option on the table is for Andretti to base his team out of the old Evernham Motorsports shop at the Statesville Regional Airport in Statesville, N.C. Also hearing from this unnamed source that this new deal with Dodge is also with Richard Petty Motorsports -- currently a Ford team paired with Roush Fenway Racing, but has a long history with Dodge. (this is why we didn't get the announcement of Petty to Dodge in Michigan a few weeks ago, they were trying to get Kenseth). Hearing that an offical announcement could come as early as next weekend.(PitPass.net)(6-282012)

UPDATE 2: 

In response to inquiries about the company's NASCAR motorsports program, Beth Paretta, Director of Marketing and Operations - SRT Brand and Motorsports, Chrysler Group LLC, offers the following statement: "While we continue to evaluate plans in NASCAR for 2013 and beyond, we have no commitments with any partners at this time. We continue to be pleased with the amount of interest from the media and fans in our motorsports program and will continue to follow our process as established in a timely manner. When decisions are finalized, we will announce them at that time. Currently what is most important is that we have not lost any focus on 2012 and our partnership with Penske Racing. Our commitment to win races and compete for championships with Penske Racing in both the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series this season remains firm. We will not lose focus on that partnership as we make decisions about our future in NASCAR."(Darnell Communications for Dodge)(6-29-2012)

UPDATE 3: 

Tim Cindric, President of Penske Racing, issued the following statement: "Contrary to recent published speculation, Penske Racing has not sold its engine company. The team's focus continues to be on successfully completing the 2012 season, competing for championships and victories in the both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series for Dodge and our other sponsor partners."(Penske Racing)(6-30-2012).”

 

HANS introduces new adjustable device: 

HANS Performance Products, the inventors of the head and neck restraint, announced the HANS Adjustable - a revolutionary new safety device. The HANS Adjustable, which meets the SFI Foundation's Spec. 38.1 for head and neck restraints, enables all drivers to purchase a HANS with full confidence of a comfortable fit no matter what type of car or racing seat they use. Previously, customers ordered a HANS Device in a fixed angle according to the driver's physical size and type of seating position in the car -- such as an upright seat in stock cars or a reclined seat in open-wheel machines. The HANS Adjustable is eligible for use in most U.S. racing series. NASCAR, which conducts its own evaluations, currently has the HANS Adjustable under consideration for approval. After passing all the required strength tests, the new device is under final consideration by the safety committee of the FIA, the international sanctioning body.(Hans PR)(7-20-2012)

 

Military sponsorships will be allowed to continue: 

NASCAR and bass fishing can count on the military to keep the sponsorship money coming. The House voted Wednesday night to continue spending millions for the military to back sports to attract recruits for the all-volunteer force. On a vote of 216-202, the House rejected an amendment by Reps. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., and Betty McCollum, D-Minn., that would have trimmed $72.3 million for sports sponsorships from a $608 billion defense bill for fiscal 2013. The measure had targeted the money the National Guard spends to sponsor Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR's most popular driver, as well as IndyCar Series driver JR Hildebrand. It also would have cut money the Army spends on the National Hot Rod Association drag racing, funds the Marine Corps uses for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and money spent on bass fishing. The House spent most of the day and night debating the far-reaching defense legislation that provides money for war, troops and weapons next year. Yet talk of Earnhardt's #88, bass fishing and NASCAR dominated the discussion. Kingston, a Georgian who says he hails from NASCAR and military country, insisted the sponsorship money was ineffective, attracting few recruits,and made no sense as the Army shrinks from a peak of 570,000 to 490,000 and the Marine Corps drops by 20,000, to 182,000. The end of the Iraq war, the drawdown in Afghanistan and the nation's fiscal woes have reshaped the defense budget, which has nearly doubled in the last 10 years.(Associated Press/ESPN)(7-19-2012)

 

Sprint Cup Racing Coming to ESPN for Second Half of Season: 

The Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, one of the premier events in NASCAR, will be the launching point for ESPN's live, flag-to-flag telecasts of the final 17 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season on Sunday, July 29.
ESPN's multimedia platforms will surround the race telecasts on television, radio, online and on mobile devices. Of the 17 races, 14 will air on ESPN and WatchESPN and three Saturday night events will air on ABC, and ESPN's flagship news and information program SportsCenter will follow the 14 ESPN race telecasts with additional post-race interviews, highlights and information.
Beginning Sept. 16 at Chicagoland Speedway, the final 10 races will comprise the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR's playoffs, culminating Nov. 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the crowning of the series champion.
For the 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, ESPN will again utilize NASCAR NonStop, a split-screen commercial format that brings more racing action to viewers. The format, which ESPN used for the first time in 2011, shows the advertisement on the left side of the screen and a continuation of racing action on the right side. ESPN's scoring ticker continues to move across the top of the screen, allowing NASCAR fans to follow the running order of the race during the breaks. NASCAR NonStop takes effect at or near the halfway point of the race, with the first half of the race presented in the traditional commercial break format.
ESPN's NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage team will include four former NASCAR Sprint Cup champions, led by analyst Dale Jarrett, the 1999 driving champion, who will work with two-time champion crew chief Andy Petree and lap-by-lap announcer Allen Bestwick in the booth. Rusty Wallace, the 1989 driving champion, and three-time champion crew chief Ray Evernham will be analysts for NASCAR Countdown with host Nicole Briscoe and analyst Brad Daugherty, a NASCAR team owner.
Pit reporters during ESPN's 17-race NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro, Dr. Jerry Punch, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch while Marty Reid will be the lap-by-lap announcer for the remainder of ESPN's NASCAR Nationwide Series race telecasts beginning with Indianapolis.(
ESPN)(7-23-2012)

 

NASCAR looking at changes to qualifying? 

NASCAR is kicking around the idea of qualifying the top 38 drivers on time and cutting the number of provisionals down to four plus one for former champions. With sponsors at a premium right now, it could be catastrophic to eliminate provisionals altogether, particularly when a driver missing a race could result in a benefactor pulling its support from the team.(Fox Sports)(7-24-2012)

 

Kinda old news, and not quite 100% accurate in what is said, but I thought I’d add this to the column, anyway,

Battle underway to save Nazareth Speedway: 

All over the United States, you can find historic but shuttered tracks, locales which once hosted all-out assaults of speed and sound but now sit abandoned, often gone to seed. Each of these tracks has its own hardy band of defenders and advocates who hope they can entice racing to return. Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania never hosted a Sprint Cup-level race, but did host lower series races (and IndyCar races) until 2004. Familiar names like Matt Kenseth, Dan Wheldon, Helio Castroneves and Greg Biffle notched Nationwide wins there; Martin Truex Jr. won the last race there in May 2004. The track is owned by ISC, but its role in the Northeast has been usurped by fellow ISC track Watkins Glen. Shoot, even the grandstands from Nazareth Speedway were removed and shipped over to Watkins Glen. For more about the speedway preservation effort, visit their Facebook page.(Yahoo Sports)(7-25-2012)

Note:  No, Dan Wheldon and Helio Castroneves did not win Nationwide races at Nazareth.  One would think …………………

 

Going back, in time – in racing history:

Note# 1:  Most of the following information was found here: 

http://www.wheelsofspeed.com/history.html

 

Note: 2:  Yes, most of this info is mostly from Open Wheel racing from “Back in the day”.

This week I’ll cover from July 26th to August 2nd:

JULY 26 
1938

Bruce Craig... Born ... He was a self-employed auto racing photographer, videographer, and historian who was well known throughout the United States. His photography collections on auto racing, numbering some 86,000 negatives, could be compared to those of Mathew Brady on the Civil War. In addition to taking photos he was very adept at acquiring outstanding collections. He was a member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum in Knoxville, Iowa, and of the Williams Grove Oldtimers; an organization dedicated to preserving auto racing. He was a longtime and active member of the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing in Dillsburg, Pa. He was a member of numerous historic racing organizations.

 

1950

Rich Vogler ... Born ... USAC Midget and Sprint Car driver. Inductee in the National Sprint Car Hall of fame. First to win both the USAC Sprint Car and Midget Championships in the same season. His 134 wins (95 Midget, 35 Sprint, and four Silver Crown wins) in national events is second only to A. J. Foyt's 169. [1] [3] Vogler had 170 total USAC wins, and won over 200 "outlaw" (non-USAC) midget races. Five starts at Indy, best finish - eighth in 1989 driving a Penske. In the last race of his life, July 21, 1990 during an ESPN "Saturday Night Thunder" national broadcast, he was killed while leading a sprint car race at the Salem (Indiana) Speedway with a little over a lap remaining. He was posthumously declared the winner.

 

1952

Doug Wolfgang ... Born ... He spent nearly twenty years criss-crossing the country as one of the world's greatest race car drivers. But Doug Wolfgang's career came to an end after two horrific accidents. 

 

1965

Curtis Turner is reinstated by NASCAR, after a 4 year ban for trying to organize a drivers union.

 

 

JULY 27 

1963

Mario Andretti entered his first road race. He won the race at Lime Rock, Connecticut, driving a front-engined midget. Mark Donohue was second in a rear-engined midget.

 

Note:  Check out the little story on this at the end of this section of the column.

 

1969

Mickey Shaw ... Died ... USAC driver from the 1960's. Mickey Shaw died at a nearby hospital after pulling into the pits during preliminaries of a USAC Sprint Car race at the Eldora Speedway the day before complaining of chest pains. 

 

1996

Jim Hall announced his retirement as a CART team owner. 

 

 

JULY 28 

1985

Emerson Fittipaldi gets his first win in a CART Indycar at the Michigan 500. 

 

 

JULY 29 

1951

Cecil Green ... Died ... An American racecar driver from Dallas, Texas. Green won 34 races between 1948 and 1950 in Oklahoma and Missouri, and many more in Texas. He won the 1949 Oklahoma City and Southwest AAA titles. He won in seven different Offenhauser cars. Green place fourth in his first Indianapolis 500 in 1950. He finished 22nd in the 1951 Indianapolis 500. He died in a qualifying crash at Winchester Speedway in Winchester, Indiana in 1951, which became known as "Black Sunday". Green was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2003. 

Walt Brown ... Died ... AAA driver from the 1940's and early 50's who ran in 3 Indy 500's with a best finish of 7th in 1947. He died in a race at the Williams Grove Speedway (PA). 

Bill Mackey ... Died ... AAA driver from 1949 to 1951. His name at birth was William Gretsinger, Jr. He was killed in a sprint car crash at Winchester Speedway. 

Black Sunday .. On this day, three big-time drivers, each of whom were veterans of the Indianapolis 500, and who together constituted the 11th (last) row for the 1951 starting field, lost their lives on this day. At the Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania, Walt Brown was warming up an ill-handling car, the Jack Robbins Special. This car, as the Noc-Out Hose Clamp Special, had been driven to victory in the 1941 Indianapolis 500 by Floyd Davis and Mauri Rose. Brown suffered critical injuries during a slow tumbling accident in the second turn, and died just after arriving at Carlisle Hospital. Meanwhile, at the Winchester Speedway in Indiana, Cecil Green lost control and went over the embankment between the first and second turn while attempting to qualify the J.C. Agajanian "98jr." car. He died on the way to the hospital while the other drivers waited for the ambulance to return. Next in the qualifying line was Bill Mackey, driver of the Joe Langley Special. No sooner had the ambulance returned than Mackey began his qualifying attempt, only to fly out of the track at the same spot Green had, also suffering fatal injuries. Mackey, whose real name was William C. Gretsinger, Jr., had been having reservations about continuing his racing career, in spite of a run of recent success, including the recent participation in his first Indianapolis 500 in May. During the second wait for the ambulance to return, drivers in the qualifying line had considerable time to ponder the hazards of their profession. Fortunately, the next driver up was the inimitable Duane Carter, the defending AAA Midwest sprint car champion. He had come to Winchester only because promoter Frank Funk had offered him a special appearance bonus to assure himself of at least one "headliner," while most of the stars were racing at Williams Grove. Without a flicker of reluctance, Carter raced through three consecutive laps, all under the track record. After establishing these records and winning the fast qualifier of the day accolades, he proceeded to win both his preliminary heat race and the day's feature race. 

 

 

JULY 30 
1946

Neil Bonnett ... Born ... NASCAR driver who compiled 18 victories and 20 poles over his 18-year career and died from injuries suffered in a practice crash at Daytona. He was part of the famous "Alabama Gang". Bonnett was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame in 1997, was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2001 and was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.

 

1981

Bud Tingelstad... Died ... USAC driver from 1957 to 1972 in the Midget, Sprint, Stock Car and Championship Car series. In the Championship Cars he raced in the 1960-1971 seasons with 120 starts, including the Indianapolis 500 in each year except 1961 and 1970. He finished in the top ten 56 times, with his one victory in 1966 at DuQuoin.

 

 

JULY 31 
1912

Henry Guerand... Born ... AAA driver from the 1930's.

Note:  Guerand was fatally injured while racing on the Nutley, NJ race track on April 2, 1939.  From what I had been told, he was decapitated.

 

From Motorsports Memorial:

 

“Henry Guerand of Irvington, NJ died in a horrifying accident witnessed by 6,500 spectators during the third midget event of 1939 at Nutley Velodrome in New Jersey. At twenty-first lap of the feature race, while riding in sixth position, Guerand lost control of the car, which was owned by Ernie Gesell, and slammed against the outside guard rail. The body of the driver was thrown half way out of the cockpit and impacted against a steel support overhanging the track, which caused him horrible and not survivable injuries.

 

The car, still carrying Guerand's lifeless body, continued its course around the turn colliding with Bill Schindler and finally came to a stop when it ran into a hay bale. Schindler received cuts about the face and nose. The race was halted with Johnny Ritter declared the winner.

 

1916

Louise Smith ... Born ... She was tied for the second woman to race in NASCAR at the top level. She was known as "the first lady of racing." She went as a spectator to the her first NASCAR race at the Daytona Beach Road Course in 1949. She couldn't stand watching the races, so she entered her family's shiny new Ford coupe in the race and rolled it. Her hometown Greenville, South Carolina paper featured photos of the wreck, and the town knew about it before she got home. The race was the first race to feature three female drivers (Ethel Mobley and Sara Christian). The trio also competed later that season at the Langley Speedway. She raced from 1949 to 1956. She won 38 races in her career in numerous formats: late models, modifieds (28 victories), midgets, and sportsman. She returned in 1971 as a car owner for numerous drivers. She sponsored Ronnie Thomas' Rookie of the Year attempt in 1978. She became the first woman inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1999.

 

1963

Bill Randall ... Died ... He raced sprint cars and midgets, winning the Eastern USAC Sprint Car title in 1957 and finishing third in the ARDC Midget Championship in 1961. In Champ Cars he raced at Daytona in 1959 in the USAC event driving a Kurtis 500C Offy, finishing 14th. He tried to qualify for the Indy 500 in 1961 but was unsuccessful. In 1962 he qualified for a race at Trenton driving a Kuzma but went out with a broken throttle. In other series he enjoyed considerable success winning races in events sanctioned by NEMA, BSRA, UCOA, ARDC and USAC. He was killed in an ARDC Midget race at Lime Rock, a road course, in July 1963. As Midgets almost always raced on ovals many of the drivers were unfamiliar with right hand bends at racing speeds. On the first lap he colided with Len Thrall and Bert Brooks and rolled, sliding over 100 feet up side down. He died four days later from his injuries. 

 

1991

Al Loquasto ... Died ... Al drove in the USAC and CART Championship Car series, racing in the 1969-1980 and 1982-1983 seasons, with 61 combined career starts, including the 1976 and 1977 Indianapolis 500. He finished in the top ten 11 times, with his best finish in 7th position in 1975 at Ontario. He also drove in the USAC Sprint Car division and competed in six NASCAR Cup Series events in his career. Loquasto died in a plane crash in Fogelsville, Pennsylvania July 31, 1991.

 

 

 

AUGUST 1 

1964

"Big Daddy" Don Garlits became the first drag racer to run the 1/4 mile at over 200 mph. He drove his Swamprat dragster to 201.34 mph at Island Dragway in New Jersey. 

 

1971

Richard Petty became the first NASCAR driver to win over $1 million in a career when he won the Dixie 500 at Atlanta, Georgia. It was also the 551st start in his NASCAR professional career.

 

1988

Sheldon Kinser... Died ... He was the 1977, 81, 82 United States Auto Club (USAC) National Sprint Car Champion. Winner of the prestigious Tony Hulman Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track, 1981. Six time starter of the Indianapolis 500, 1975-79, 81. Best finish, 6th, 1981. Sheldon had never driven a rear engine car or raced on pavement until he quailified 26th and finished 12th in the 1975 Indianapolis 500. Quite an accomplishment for a rookie driver. Son-in-law of the late Bobby Grim, 1959 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. Nephew of former sprint car driver Bobby Kinser and cousin of World of Outlaw drivers Steve, Kelly, Randy and Mark Kinser. He was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1992.

 

1998

Len Duncan... Died ... Len Duncan, of Lansdale, PA, had a racing career spanning seven decades, beginning in 1928 and continuing into the 1980s in TQ midgets! In 1953, 1954 and 1955, when AAA had a working agreement with the American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC), he was the AAA Eastern Midget Champion, and during the thirteen years between 1955 and 1967, he won the ARDC title eight times. During World War II, Len had the honor of being assigned as President Truman's driver during one of his visits to England. He drove in the Indianapolis 500 in 1954 and had relief from George Fonder. The pair completed 101 laps and placed 31st. Mario Andretti credits Duncan with having a great influence on his professional life. 

 

1999

Tommy Hinnershitz... Died ... Eastern AAA driver from 1932 to 1960. Also known as "The Flying Dutchman", Hinnershitz ran in the Indy 500 three times with a best finish of 9th in 1948. He captured seven Eastern sprint-car championships and posted 103 feature victories during his 30-year racing career. While he first gained success and popularity near his Pennsylvania home, racing at the Reading Fairgrounds and Williams Grove Speedway, he also was very popular with fans and fellow racers in the Corn Belt. From the very start of his career, Hinnershitz preferred driving his own cars as opposed to wheeling machinery owned by others. He was an excellent mechanic and did all the work on his cars, including rebuilds on his Offenhauser engines. During the midget racing boom in the late 1930s, Hinnershitz wheeled an outboard-engine car with great success on the board track at the Nutley (N.J.) Velodrome. He was one of a handful of racers, who won races on dirt, asphalt and boards. He retired from driving in 1960, only hours after his friend and rival, Johnny Thomson, was killed in a race at the Allentown Fairgrounds. Hinnershitz was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in the first class in 1990.

 

 

AUGUST 2

1964

Parnelli Jones, driving A.J. Foyt's # 2 TRACO Chevy Special, won the USAC Sprint Car race over Don Branson, Bud Tingelstad, Jud Larson and Mario Andretti at the Salem Speedway, Salem,IN. 

 

The story on that win by Mario Andretti:

 

Marios first road race win

 

The Lime Rock Formula Libre (‘run what you brung’) Race was a landmark event. There is an account & photos of the event at coldplugs.com

http://www.coldplugs.com/lime_rock_park01.htm

Note:  Link no longer works.

BTW: A zillion races at Lime Rock & just a few involving Midgets.

But in addition to Rodger Ward’s historic win, Mario Andretti’s 1st ever road race win came in a midget @ Lime Rock.

And, in that same event, Mark Donohue was driving his first professional race.

Donohue drove a Cooper/Offy midget owned by…Ken Brenn. Donohue wrote of Ken Brenn & the first money ($600) he made racing, on pages 22-26 in his book, ‘The Unfair Advantage.

There were a couple of heats & Donohue wrote they were repairing the Cooper-Offy & were going to miss the start, but Dutch Schaeffer put his car on the grid & disappeared.

They were hunting & paging Dutch like crazy, but he didn’t get back from the ‘men’s room’ until the repairs on Brenn’s Cooper/Offy were completed.

So, the great Dutch Schaeffer made it possible for Mark Donohue to win his first pro money.

 

 

Found on the Internet:

 

Economist Schiff: Upcoming Crash Will Pale 2008

In part:

Investors need to prepare for an upcoming stock market crash that will be “worse than 2008.”

That’s according to a well-respected author and investor, making a recent appearance on Fox Business.

Peter Schiff, the CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, says the stock market collapse we experienced in 2008 “wasn’t the real crash. The real crash is coming.”

He says that Federal stimulus, or quantitative easing, never works and that it just makes the economy sicker in the end. “The reason we are so screwed up is all this quantitative easing is toxic. I don’t doubt that we are going to pressure Germany into printing. We are like the kid who is trying to get a friend to ditch school with us to go to the beach. We are a bad influence on everybody.”

Schiff’s solution is to raise interest rates, but he acknowledges that it would bring a huge downside risk with it. “In America, the problem is that interest rates are too low. They have to go up. We can’t have an economy with interest rates at zero. If the Fed lets interest rates go up, we have to realize that we will have a deeper recession, we have to realize that banks are going to fail.”

More on this can be seen if you go here:

http://www.newsmaxworld.com/the_americas/financial_schiff_wiedemer/2012/07/03/460068.html




News from the AARN:

http://www.aarn.com/

 

From the July 17th issue:

 

I usually do this part on Wednesday, about the last thing for the column.  Well, this weeks news from the AARN will be somewhat short.  I had some running around to do – getting copies made of paperwork that’s required for us to see if we can get some financial assistance for the wife when she starts her chemo therapy.  All of a sudden things have come together, and it was imperative that I get the paperwork and required items sent out on Wednesday.

 

Lenny Sammons:

He had a good portion of his column devoted to Bob Lutz – he the step son of Glenn Donnelly.  (It was back in the early 80’s, when Glen and DIRT took over OCFS, that Bob was down and he, Chris Foster and my son, Eric, had the ok to run their Karts on the big 5/8 mile track in Middletown. We had Accord gearing on the Karts, so we didn’t expect high speeds.  What we didn’t expect was some broken Kart frames due to the roughness of the track!).

Bob is 42 now, and has really come a long way since those days!  Today, he is the sole proprietor of both the NASCAR and Mario Andretti Driving Experiences.  He’s also purchased Myrtle Beach Speedway in South Carolina.  After working for the Richard Petty Driving School, he started the Jeff Gordon Driving Experience and later switched the branding to the NASCAR Driving Experience, which is now held at 11 different facilities.  He currently owns 73 Stock cars, 32 Indy Cars and 16 Road Racing Cars.

Bob has been working with the same people that Donnelly has worked with – the different racing surface for this new track, to be built a little north of Syracuse, but the product they’re working on is for asphalt tracks, and so far looks to be quite promising. 

 

Mr. Sammons also makes mention of “Pre-teen” race driver, Kyle Strohl, 12 years old, from Palmerton, Pa.  Kyle has already won a Street Stock feature at Mahoning Valley.

 

Ernie Saxton:

Might there be a drivers union in NASCAR?  From Carl Edwards:

“My point is that I think until the drivers, this is just my theory.  I think the drivers need to get together and we need to have our own group that is paid by us, that works for us, to be here in tandem with NASCAR drug testers and have them test us at the same time so that we have not just an “A” and “B” sample”.

 

That’s if for this week, folks.  Wish I had checked the paper a day or so earlier.  My bad!

 

 

 

From this weeks issue (July 24th):

 

In AARN 
This Week:


Darrah's Return To Home State 
Yields Huge Grove WoO Victory


Oxford 250 Won By Joey 'Pole' 
- Who Earns $45,500


Matt Hirschman Finally 
Gets His Long Overdue 
Race Of Champions


Goodyear's Sprint Car 
Tire Deal Comes Under Fire


Ted Christopher 
Loses NASCAR Mod Tour Ride


Stewart Friesen 
Uses Multiple Rides 
To Maintain Win Spree


Indiana Speed Week Honors 
To Clayton, Thomas, 
Stanbrough & Darland


Shaffer Wins Back To Back 
All Star Sprint Races 
In Central New York


Message From DIRT:   
The Rules Will Be Enforced

 

 

 

 

Former Oakland Valley Speedway (Dirt Oval) runners:

 

At OCFS last Thursday, in the 358 Modified feature, Tim Hindley was 3rd, Brian Krummel 4th, Danny Creeden 6th, Tommy Hindley 7th, Zack Vavricka 14th, Tyler Boniface 17th and Mike Doty 18th.

Brian Krummel won the Sportsman feature, with Tyler Dippel 6th, Joe Conklin 14th, Matt Hitchcodk 17th, Matt Janiak 18th, Anthony Perrego 19th, John Lodini 20th and RJ Smykla 24th.  LJ Lombardo was a DNQ.

In the Rookie Sportsman feature, Seth Pacella was 2nd and John Illanovsky was 5th.

 

At Devil’s Bowl, Alex Bell was 8th in the Modified feature.

 

Bobby Hackel, IV, was 5th in the Sportsman “A” feature at A/S.

 

Lyle Armstrong was 7th and Kolby Schroder 8th in the Modified feature at Lebanon Valley.  Bobby Hackel, IV, was 1st and John Virgilio 26th in the Budget Sportsman feature.

 

Nick Pecko was 3rd in the Sport Modified feature at Mountain Speedway.

 

Johnny Guarino finished 7th in the Modified feature at New Egypt.

 

At Hamlin, in the 270n Micro Sprint feature, Rick Casario was 9th, Jacob Hendershot 19th, while Mike Casario is shown to be a DQ.  Kyle Rohner won the 600 Micro Sprint feature.  Paul Tigue was 5th and Tighe Sherlock 10th in the Junior Slingshot feature.

 

Rich Coons won the Sportsman feature at Bethel.

 

Very sorry if I missed anyone!

 

 

 

Going back, in time at OVRP’s Dirt Oval:

From August 3, 2002:

 

http://www.whowon.com/Results.asp?TrackID=1904&StoryID=69556

 

 

 

More racin’ stuff:

 

The Start and Park Reform Act of 2012

An Opinion

 

July 24, 2012

 

By Doug Demmons

 

Call them the Dirty Dozen.

 

They're the approximately 12 drivers who started and parked during Sunday’s Nationwide Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.

 

Approximate because a couple of the 12 drivers who were in the garage by Lap 47 may or may not have intended to race on to the end and may or may not have been hampered by legit mechanical problems.

 

The rest of them caught an S&P virus that seems to be spreading.

 

NASCAR doesn’t keep records for start and park. It barely acknowledges its existence. But Sunday might have been some kind of S&P record. By Lap 60 there were only 30 cars left in the race.

 

Apparently a plague of mechanical misfortune struck Sunday at Chicagoland -- vibration, overheating, clutch, vibration, overheating, vibration, rear gear, ignition, handling, handling, engine, engine, transmission. Those were the official reason listed for the teams that were out early.

 

Back in the day -- before parts and pieces were as reliable as they are today -- that wasn’t so out of the ordinary. Races were 500 miles just to see who could make it that far without breaking down.

 

Now the race is to see who can get to the garage first. The winner on Sunday was Jeff Green, who edged Carl Long with a Lap 4 park.

 

Green’s last-place finish padded his all-time NASCAR Nationwide Series lead in that category among all drivers. Through May he had 31 of them.

 

It’s an old problem and ranting about it sometimes feels like beating a parked horse. But a dozen start and parks? Seriously? Is that something that should continue to be tolerated?

 

Whenever I rant about start and parks I get a litany of excuses about why the poor S&P drivers have to do what they do.

 

Do you want to drive all these competitors out of the sport?

 

No, just out of a series they are ill-equipped or underfunded to compete in. If they cannot afford to compete in Cup, go to Nationwide. If Nationwide is too much, try Trucks. If Trucks is too pricey, try ARCA or Grand-Am or late models. Compete where your budget makes you competitive.

 

But they have to start and park to keep their teams going.

 

I can tolerate an occasional start and park by a team that mostly runs full races but has limited sponsorship and wants to try to stay in the top 35. My objection is with teams that start and park as a business model.

 

But drivers have to do it in order to stay visible.

 

This is the “out of sight, out of mind” argument, which has some validity. Drivers who lose good rides need to stick around the garage area every week in order to find a new quality ride. So they drive for S&P teams until something better comes along. But that doesn’t happen very often. besides, which is more impressive to a team owner in need of a driver for a good ride -- a guy who dropped down to a lower series and kicked butt or a guy who proves how good he is at parking?

 

Without the start and parks there would be short fields.

 

So what? Full fields only exist for a couple of laps at the start of each race. There is nothing magical about the number 43. It isn’t built into any TV contracts. The Nationwide field could be cut to 40 or even 36 cars without any loss of quality.

 

But even if NASCAR wanted to get rid of S&P teams how do you come up with a rule to accomplish that?

 

Good question. S&P can’t be legislated away. Unless NASCAR wants to tear down every early exit car to see if the reported vibration was legit (which they surely don’t) there is no way to tell if parking was by choice or chance.

 

But there are other ways to discourage starting and parking -- or, rather, to encourage start and park teams to compete more. Here’s a few I’ll call the Start and Park Reform Act of 2012:

 

1. Lift the ban on testing enough to provide special test dates during the season to single-car teams. The expenses of the single-car teams could be paid either by NASCAR or with a luxury tax on teams with more than two cars.

2. Redistribute the way the purse is doled out. The difference Sunday between Jeff Green in 43rd place and Kyle Busch in 27th was $2,213. The amount of money a team could make by staying out isn’t always enough to cover what it would cost to be able to do that.

 

3. Impose a general luxury tax on multi-car teams. Teams subject to the tax could avoid paying it by sharing resources and information with one or more single-car teams.

 

4. Impose penalties on persistent start and park teams. A team that fails to complete a certain minimum percentage of the laps over a five-race period would be suspended briefly.

 

5. Hold a new contest for unsponsored teams. NASCAR loves contests like Dash for Cash, so here’s a new Dash for Cash. For each race in the first half of the season, teams that have no primary sponsorship for that race can enter a special contest. They will be competing against each other for the highest finish. The winner each week gets a cash bonus. Whoever has the highest average finish at mid-season gets the big prize -- a primary sponsor recruited by NASCAR to finish the season.

 

There’s no way to make start and park go away for good. But it can be ameliorated. It can even be made into something interesting with a little creative thought.

 

Doug Demmons is a writer and editor for the Birmingham News ~ he writes daily and weekly auto racing columns ranging from NASCAR to open wheel to Formula One, local tracks and more... you can read Doug's columns online at ALABAMA MOTORSPORTS

 

The above was found via a link on Jayski's website,

 

http://insiderracingnews.com/Writers/DD/072412.html

 

 

 

 

Going back, in time:

Midget racing results from the small track at OCFS:

Middletown Midget Records

 

Victory Speedway Middletown, NY

1/5 mile track at the Orange County Fairgrounds

 

1945

Track was dirt

Sept. 23 1. Bill Schindler 2. Red Redmond 3. Chet Gibbons

Sept. 30 1. Bill Schindler 2. Chet Gibbons 3. Andy DeVercelly

Oct. 7 rain

Oct. 14 no racing

Oct. 21 ?

 

1946

ARDC Midgets

June 12 1. Bill Holmes 2. Chet Gibbons 3. Johnny Ritter

June 19 1. Dutch Schaefer 2. Jeep Colkitt 3. Art Cross

June 26 1. Bill Holmes 2. Ray Nestor 3. Dutch Schaefer

July 3 1. Charlie Breslin

July 10 1. Ray Nestor 2. Len Duncan 3. Jeep Colkitt

July 17 1. Dutch Schaefer 2. Chet Gibbons 3. Rex Records

July 24 1. Bill Schindler 2. Bill Holmes 3. Dutch Schaefer

July 31 rain

August 7 rain

August 14 no racing-fair

August 21 1. Bill Schindler 2. Dutch Schaefer 3. Ray Nestor

August 28 1. Bill Schindler 2. Jeep Colkitt 3. George Rice

Sept. 4 1. Tony Bonadies 2. Bill Schindler 3. Ray Nestor

Sept. 11 1. Bill Schindler 2. Ted Tappett 3. Dutch Schaefer

Sept. 18 1. Lloyd Christopher 2. Tony Bonadies 3. Al Keller 30 laps, Fords

Sept. 25 1. Bill Holmes 2. Al Keller 3. Art Cross

Oct. 2 1. Al Keller 2. Tony Bonadies 3. George Rice

 

1947

ARDC midgets

May 21 rain

May 28 1. Tony Bonadies 2. Chet Conklin 3. Ernie McCoy

June 4 1. Tony Bonadies 2. Johnny Ringger 3. Rex Records

June 11 1. Dutch Schaefer 2. Tony Bonadies 3. Jeep Colkitt

June 18 1. Rex Records 2. Jeep Colkitt 3. Chet Conklin

June 25 rain

July 2 1. Tony Bonadies 2. Dutch Schaefer (6/25 feature)

July 2 1. Dutch Schaefer 2. Jeep Colkitt

July 4 1. Johnny Zeke 2. Chet Conklin 3. Allen no offy's

July 9 1. Bill Schindler 2. Al Keller 3. Jeep Colkitt

July 16 rain

July 23 1. Ted Tappett 2. Chet Gibbons 3. Len Duncan

July 30 1. Len Duncan 2. Johnny Ritter 3. Henry Renard

August 6 1. Chet Conklin 2. George Rice 3. Johnny Ringger 50 laps

August 13 no racing fair week

August 20 1. Tony Bonadies 2. Ted Tappett 3. Jeep Colkitt

August 27 1. Al Keller 2. Dutch Schaefer 3. Johnny Ringger

Sept. 3 1. Johnny Ringger 2. Jeep Colkitt 3. Don Morris

Sept. 10 1. Dutch Schaefer 2. Henry Renard 3. Mike Nazaruk

Sept. 17 1. Johnny Ringger 2. Rex Records 3. Don Morris 50 laps

Champion: Johnny Ringger 2nd: Chet Conklin 3rd: Jeep Colkitt

 

1948

ARDC Midgets

May 9 1. Tony Bonadies 2. Ray Nestor 3. Bill Schindler

May 20 1. Mike Nazaruk 2. Ray Nestor 3. Henry Renard

May 27 1. Dee Toran 2. Chet Gibbons 3. Bob Disbrow

June 3 1. Mike Nazaruk 2. Andy Furci 3. Joe Barzda

June 10 rain

June 17 1. Vernon Land 2. Stan Disbrow 3. Joe Barzda

June 24 ?

July 1 1. Mike Nazaruk 2. Lou Volk 3. Johnny Carpenter

July 8 1. Johnny Zeke 2. Mike Nazaruk 3. Bob Disbrow

moved from Thursday to Wednesday night

July 14 1. Steve McGrath 2. Dutch Schaefer 3. Art Cross

July 21 rain

July 28 1. Mike Nazaruk 2. Johnny Ritter 3. Al Keller

August 4 1. Bill Schindler 2. Tony Bonadies 3. Vernon Land

August 11 rain

August 18 no racing-fair

August 25 1. Tony Bonadies 2. Larry Bloomer 3. Johnny Ritter

Sept. 1 1. Larry Bloomer 2. Dutch Schaefer 3. Len Fanelli

Sept. 5 1. Bill Schindler 2. Rex Records 3. Len Fanelli

Sept. 8 1. Dutch Schaefer 2. Tony Bonadies 3. Larry Bloomer 50 laps

Sept. 15 1. Johnny Peterson 2. Tony Bonadies 3. Bill Schindler 50 laps

Mike Nazaruk Champion

 

1949

ARDC Midgets

May 15 canceled, not enough cars

May 30 1. Bob Disbrow 2. Dutch Schaefer 3. Jiggs Peters

July 19 1. Mike Nazaruk

August 9 ?

 

 

Press Releases:

NEWS FROM     

Orange County Fair Speedway                                                                                                    

CONTACT 

Mike Gurda

239 Wisner Avenue      

Middletown, NY10940       

845-342-2573

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

STOCK CAR RACING RETURNS TO ORANGE COUNTY FAIR SPEEDWAY FOLLOWING A ONE-WEEK RESPITE

 

MIDDLETOWN, NY (July 23)……..Following a one-week respite from the 2012 racing schedule,  stock car racing returns to the five-eighths-mile Hard Clay Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York on Saturday, July 28, the final weekend of the 172nd Annual Orange County Fair

           

With sponsorship from McGannon Excavating and JHM Tree Service, the evening of speedway action will include a four-division racing program anchored by the Big-Block Modifieds competing for the top prize of $2,500 in a 30-lap feature race.  Also on the card are the Sportsman, Pro Stock, and Street Stock divisions in qualifying and feature event races. And as a special attraction, fans will be treated to a return of the 305 Sprint Cars.

 

With just seven more nights of racing remaining in the 2012 point season, drivers will be out to cement the ir positions in the standings.  In the headline Modified division, Jerry Higbie holds a 30-point edge over Tommy Meier.  Sportsman division speedster Gary Edwards Jr. is 26 points ahead of Jimmy Spellman, while Ron Nuzzaro Jr. and Mike Dutka are tied for the lead in the Pro Stock ranks.  Finally, Charles Donald leads the Street Stock division by 36 points over Matt Burke.  All will be racing on Saturday night.

 

Advance Speedway admission prices remain at $14 adults, $12 seniors, and free for children 12 and under. Fair admission applies to same day speedway attendance. Advance Speedway tickets purchased at least one day prior to the scheduled race meet includes Fair admission. Racing begins promptly at 6:30 pm.

 

The Fair closes its historic 172nd run on Sunday, July 29. The final grandstand show during the Fair is a Middletown Auto Wreckers Demolition Derby.

 

Ticket prices, starting times, and other important information for Orange County Fair are available at www.orangecountyfair.com/entertainment/grandstand.

 

Advance ticket sales and track information for all remaining Orange County Fair Speedway race dates, including the 51stAnnual Eastern States Weekend, can be found at the Orange County website, www.orangecountyfairspeedway.net, or from the Track Office. Call 845-342-2573 during business hours.         

 

 

I get e-mails:

 

True, or not?  All I know is there is an awful lot going around on this, and somehow maybe there is some truth to it?  Bigger question is – how come we never see this stuff on the news?

 

 

Biden may be interim president by the end of 2012

 

VERY QUIETLY OBAMA'S CITIZENSHIP CASE REACHES THE SUPREME COURT

AP - WASHINGTOND.C.

In a move certain to fuel the debate over Obama's qualifications for the presidency, the group "Americans for Freedom of Information" has Released copies of President Obama's college transcripts from Occidental College ... Released today, the transcript school indicates that Obama, under the name Barry Soetoro, received financial aid as a foreign student from Indonesia as an undergraduate. The transcript was released by Occidental College in compliance with a court order in a suit brought by the group in the Superior Court of California.    If he was not a foreign student, then he should be prosecuted for obtaining financial aid under false pretenses.

 

The transcript shows that Obama (Soetoro) applied for financial aid and was awarded a fellowship for foreign students from the Fulbright Foundation Scholarship program. To qualify, for the scholarship, a student must claim foreign citizenship.

 

This document would seem to provide the smoking gun that many of Obama's detractors have been seeking. Along with the evidence that he was first born in Kenya and there is no record of him ever applying for US citizenship, this is looking pretty grim. The news has created a firestorm at the White House as the release casts increasing doubt about Obama's legitimacy and qualification to serve as President article titled, "Obama Eligibility Questioned," leading some to speculate that the story may overshadow economic issues on Obama's first official visit to the U.K. In a related matter, under growing pressure from several groups, Justice Antonin Scalia announced that the Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to hear arguments concerning Obama's legal eligibility to serve as President in a case brought by Leo Donofrio of New Jersey . This lawsuit claims Obama's dual citizenship disqualified him from serving as president.. Donofrio's case is just one of 18 suits brought by citizens demanding proof of Obama's citizenship or qualification to serve as president.

 

Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation has released the results of their investigation of Obama's campaign spending. This study estimates that Obama has spent upwards of $950,000 in campaign funds in the past year with eleven law firms in 12 states for legal resources to block disclosure of any of his personal records. Mr. Kreep indicated that the investigation is still ongoing but that the final report will be provided to the U.S. Attorney general, Eric Holder. Mr. Holder has refused to comment on the matter...  Isn't it illegal to use campaign funds for personal expenses?  So why isn't he being prosecuted?

 

LET OTHER FOLKS KNOW THIS NEWS, THE MEDIA WON'T!

Subject: RE: Issue of Passport?

While I've little interest in getting in the middle of the Obama birth issue, Paul Hollrah over at FSM did so yesterday and believes the issue can be resolved by Obama answering one simple question: What passport did he use when he was shuttling between New York , Jakarta , and Karachi ?

 

 

So how did a young man who arrived in New York in early June 1981, without the price of a hotel room in his pocket, suddenly come up with the price of a round-the-world trip just a month later?

 

And once he was on a plane, shuttling between New York, Jakarta , and Karachi , what passport was he offering when he passed through Customs and Immigration?

 

The American people not only deserve to have answers to these questions, they must have answers. It makes the debate over Obama's citizenship a rather short and simple one.

 

Q: Did he travel to Pakistan in 1981, at age 20?

A : Yes, by his own admission.

Q: What passport did he travel under?

A: There are only three possibilities.

1) He traveled with a U.S.  Passport,

2) He traveled with a British passport, or

3) He traveled with an Indonesia passport.

Q: Is it possible that Obama traveled with a U.S. Passport in 1981?

A: No. It is not possible. Pakistan was on the U.S. .. State Department's "no travel" list in 1981.

 

Conclusion: When Obama went to Pakistan in 1981 he was traveling either with a British passport or an Indonesian passport.

 

If he were traveling with a British passport that would provide proof that he was born in Kenya on August 4, 1961, not in Hawaii as he claims.. And if he were traveling with an Indonesian passport that would tend to prove that he relinquished whatever previous citizenship he held, British or American, prior to being adopted by his Indonesian step-father in 1967.

 

Whatever the truth of the matter, the American people need to know how he managed to become a "natural born" American citizen between 1981 and 2008.

 

Given the destructive nature of his plans for America, as illustrated by his speech before Congress and the disastrous spending plan he has presented to Congress, the sooner we learn the truth of all this, the better.

If you Don't care that Your President is not a natural born Citizen and in Violation of the Constitution, then Delete this, and then lower your American Flag to half-staff, because the U.S. Constitution is already on life-support, and won't survive much longer.

If you do care then Forward this to as many patriotic Americans as you can, because our country is being looted and ransacked!

 

Found on Facebook:

Posted by Billy VanInwegen last Sunday:

Extremely excited about next Saturday at OCFS I will be driving the Sherlock Motorsports, Tri-State Roofing #10. A great opportunity with a great team. I hope I can get the job done for them!”

And:

“So I called my Dr. for an appointment today. Was routed to an operator who took my name and asked some questions. First she said do I consider myself hispanic or non-hispanic. I said why are you asking me that? She said due to the new health care reform we have to ask some questions. Next she said do I consider myself caucasian, black, hispanic of other? Then she asked my religion - I said you have got to be joking asking this kee-rap. She said I know, it's just the new health care reform requires we do this. Also come in earlier so we can scan all your cards and information - again! Can't wait until November - just venting!”

 

 

Just wondering:

 

What next?

 

Troops march in San Diego gay parade - in uniform

In part:

Some of the loudest cheers Saturday at San Diego's gay pride parade were for active-duty troops marching in military dress, the first time that U.S. service members participated in such an event while in full uniform.

Dozens of soldiers, sailors, and Marines marched alongside an old Army truck decorated with a "Freedom to Serve" banner and a rainbow flag. They were joined by dozens more military personnel in civilian clothes, but the uniforms stood out among the flower-bedecked floats and scantily clad revelers.

In a memorandum sent to all its branches this year, the Defense Department said it was making the allowance for the San Diego event even though its policy generally bars troops from marching in uniform in parades.

The Defense Department said Thursday it did so because organizers had encouraged military personnel to march in their uniform and the parade was getting national attention.

More on this, along with comments under the article, can be found here:

http://news.yahoo.com/troops-march-san-diego-gay-parade-uniform-204528956.html

 

And:

Don’tcha think that some of these TV people are slightly overpaid? 

Modern Family TV show:

An individual with knowledge of the negotiations told TheWrap on Tuesday that series stars Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet and Sofia Vergara were offered $150,000 per episode and a $50,000 bonus for the upcoming fourth season, with a bump to $200,000 per episode for the fifth season, but rejected the offer.

Ed O'Neill, who was the biggest name on the show when it began, earns more than his castmates and was initially negotiating his own contract, but joined his cohorts' suit in solidarity shortly after it was filed on Wednesday.”

American Idol TV show:

It’s being rumored that Mariah Carey could possibly be paid 18 MILLION for a years “work” on that TV show.  Really?  Damn, as far as I’m concerned, any “Judge” on that show would be over paid at a million a year.  No wonder we have so damn many commercials anymore!  Where will this madness end?

 

Some non-racing stuff:

 

US pledge to rebuild Haiti not being met

In part:

“The deadly earthquake that leveled Haiti's capital more than two years ago brought a thread of hope: a promise of renewal. With the United States taking the lead, international donors pledged billions of dollars to help the country "build back better," breaking its cycle of dependency.

But after the rubble was cleared and the dead buried, what the quake laid bare was the depth of Haiti's dysfunction. Today, the fruits of an ambitious, $1.8 billion U.S. reconstruction promise are hard to find. Immediate, basic needs for bottled water, temporary shelter and medicine were the obvious priorities. But projects fundamental to Haiti's transformation out of poverty, such as permanent housing and electric plants in the heavily hit capital of Port-au-Prince have not taken off.

Critics say the U.S. effort to reconstruct Haiti was flawed from the start. While "build back better" was a comforting notion, there wasn't much of a foundation to build upon. Haiti's chronic political instability and lack of coordinated leadership between Haiti and the U.S. meant crucial decisions about construction projects were slow to be approved. Red tape stalled those that were.

The international community's $10 billion effort was also hindered by its pledge to get approval for projects from the Haitian government. For more than a year then-President Rene Preval was, as he later described it, "paralyzed," while his government was mostly obliterated, with 16,000 civil servants killed and most ministries in ruins. It wasn't until earlier this year that a fully operational government was in place to sign paperwork, adopt codes and write regulations. Other delays included challenges to contracts, underestimates of what needed to be done, and land disputes.

Until now, comprehensive details about who is receiving U.S. funds and how they are spending them have not been released. Contracts, budgets and a 300-item spreadsheet obtained by The Associated Press under a Freedom of Information Act request show:”

To see what they “show”, please go here:

http://news.yahoo.com/us-pledge-rebuild-haiti-not-being-met-170346036.html

 

 

Ford recalls 2013 Escapes; engines can catch fire

http://news.yahoo.com/ford-recalls-2013-escapes-engines-catch-fire-123203130--finance.html

 

OUTRAGE: USDA Partners with Mexico to Give More Food Stamps to ‘Mexican Nationals’ in U.S.

http://standwitharizona.com/blog/2012/07/19/outrage-usda-partners-with-mexico-to-give-more-food-stamps-to-mexican-nationals-in-u-s/

 

 

Record Greenland Ice Melt Happened in Days

In part:

 

Greenland ice, it seems, can vanish in a flash, with new satellite images showing that over just a few days this month nearly all of the veneer of surface ice atop the island's massive ice sheet had thawed.

That's a record for the largest area of surface melt on Greenland in more than 30 years of satellite observations, according to NASA and university scientists.

The images, snapped by three satellites, showed that about 40 percent of the ice sheet had thawed at or near the surface on July 8; just days later, on July 12, images showed a dramatic increase in melting with thawing across 97 percent of the ice sheet surface.

"This was so extraordinary that at first I questioned the result: was this real or was it due to a data error?" said Son Nghiem of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., referring to the July 12 images taken by the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Oceansat-2 satellite.”

More on this can be seen here:  http://news.yahoo.com/record-greenland-ice-melt-happened-days-232307293.html

 

 

Video time:

 

How about a full length movie – an hour and a half?  Mickey Rooney in “The Big Wheel”

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_OFRxh5D2Q

 

Or a couple of accidents with two of NASCAR’s biggest drivers, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jimmie Johnson?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGR0KWLs51c

 

 

 

Photos:

 

Note:  The photos are not available on Dirt Track Digest, only on New England Tractor - http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/

 

 

Two photos for you this week.  Both are from Nostalgia night at OCFS a few years ago.  As you can see, there was quite a crowd and a great turn-out of drivers from back in the day.  It wasn’t too long ago that we lost Dick Crumley, who is pictured in the second photo, next to former driver and OCFS Official, Red Muir.  How many people do you recognize in the first photo?

 

 

 

 

Closing with these:

 

Tips From the Redneck Book of Manners – continued:

 

WEDDINGS

1. Livestock, usually, is a poor choice for a wedding gift.

2. Kissing the bride for more than 5 seconds may get you shot.

3. For the groom, at least, rent a tux. A leisure suit with a cummerbund and a clean bowling shirt can create too sporty an appearance.

4. Though uncomfortable, say 'yes' to socks and shoes for this special occasion.

5. It is not appropriate to tell the groom how good his wife is in the sack.

DRIVING ETIQUETTE

1. Dim your headlights for approaching vehicles, even if the gun is loaded, and the deer is in sight.

2. When approaching a four-way stop, the vehicle with the largest tires always has the right of way.

3. Never tow another car using panty hose and duct tape.

4. When sending your wife/girlfriend down the road with a gas can, it is impolite to ask her to bring back beer.

5. Never relieve yourself from a moving vehicle, especially when driving.

6. Do not lay rubber while traveling in a funeral procession.

TWO REASONS WHY IT IS HARD TO SOLVE A REDNECK MURDER:

1. All the DNA is the same.

2. There are no dental records

 

 

May “Guardian Angels” sit on the shoulders of all of our race drivers and race fans, and guide them safely around the tracks!

Drive safe! 

As usual, you can reach me at:  ygordad@yahoo.com